The world is full of low fat diets, low calorie diets, low carb – high fat diets. The truth is, not all fats are created equal! Did you know that (certain) fats, are actually necessary for good health and are good for you to eat? Also, any proper diet actually has at least a third or more of its calories dedicated to fat.
So, you could start a low carb diet and eat anything you want (as long as there are no carbs in it); but is a diet of bacon really healthy for you? Could it be? The answer is definitely NO. Truth is, low carb diets can be very detrimental or very beneficial to your health, depending on what you eat and what type of fat is present in what you are eating.
We have saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, Trans fats, Omega fats, Rascal Flats… sound confusing? Well lets clear them up for you (without getting too sciency).
Saturated Fat: Mostly bad for you. Found in meats and whole dairy products; have been known to raise cholesterol. Has been associated with Cardiovascular disease and various cancer’s as well… they will also make you fat!
Monounsaturated Fat: Found in Olive Oil, avocados, and nuts. They are known to lower blood cholesterol and help prevent artery clogging or atherosclerosis.
Polyunsaturated Fat: Some are more beneficial than others. Omega 3 (found in fish oils for example) are healthy, which improve blood chemistry and reduce risks of diseases. Omega 6 (found in vegetable oils for example) are not good when you eat too much of them in comparison to Omega 3 fats.
Trans Fat: Trans fats are added into foods to give them a longer shelf life. These additives, as shown by research, literally and directly increase your risk of heart disease. Common sources are baked and fried foods. Also, they sometimes occur naturally in some meats and dairy products and oils. They are also created in a process called partial hydration, where liquid oils are turned into a semi-solid state, margarine for example.
Basically, Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats are the way to go, avoid Saturated and Trans fats, because they are typically NOT good for you or your body and can cause high cholesterol and heart disease!
Cameron.
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